The Massassi Sapphire
by Tinhuviel
Summary: Darth Maul is sent on a mission by his Master to retrieve a Sith relic being hidden and protected by a woman on Earth. Once he tracks her down, the chase and seduction is on, for Maul must take back the relic at all cost.


Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, and all Star Wars-related characters are the sole possession of George Lucas. Elliot belongs to Steven Spielberg et al. No disrespect was meant in the least in the writing of this tale.

Special thanks go to the musical artists whose lovely and mysterious melodies inspired and impassioned me during the writing of this story. Deep and honoured bows to you all.

Thanks also go to Michelle, Rebecca, and Meche for encouragement, information, and inspiration.

_**The Massassi Sapphire**_

**PT.1**

**THE TWILIGHT TRAP**

With your head held high and your scarlet lies you came down to me from the open skies. It's either real or it's a dream, there's nothing that is in between...Twilight, I only meant to stay awhile. Twilight, I gave you time to steal my mind away from me. ~**Electric Light Orchestra "Twilight"**

At Twilight, when Light gives way to Dark in the inescapable cycle of things, Darth Maul slipped silently through the Earth's atmosphere, landing his Infiltrator in a clearing of a forest much like the great forests of Naboo, the planet of his Master's dread genesis. Darth Maul peered out of one of the ship's windows to admire the descending darkness. A sublime sense of peace never failed to overtake the Sith Lord upon the advent of Twilight. From the balcony of his patrician home on Coruscant, he would watch the sun set as it admitted defeat to the lustrous stars that shimmered coolly in the ever-darkening sky, and he would revel in the symbolism that Twilight expressed ~ the triumph of Darkness over Light, of Sith over Jedi. Someday…someday.

It was the changing of the seasons, Maul noted, as he glided out of the red warmth of his ship and onto the forest floor, admiring instantly the beauty of Death all around him. In the vivid Twilight a melange of colour graced the regal trees, evidence of their leaves' demise. Some of the trees were utterly barren of foliage, their branches stretching like bony fingers to the blind heavens, reaching for a solace that was not there.

The Botanists had visited this planet years ago, Darth Sidious had told his young apprentice. Whilst here, they had deposited an ancient Sith relic at the Jedi Council's behest. It was hoped that this relic would be lost to the Sith forever, hidden for all time in either this primeval forest or a second wooded locale quite near a human settlement. At least that's what the unfortunate Botanist, "questioned" by Sidious, had disclosed before he mercifully met his death, the glow in his chest winking out for good.

Once the coordinates had been ascertained, Sidious bade Lord Maul go to Earth and find the Massassi Sapphire. He was to retrieve the Sith relic and return it to the Sith Master with the promise that, upon his own ascension, Maul would claim this treasure by right of power.

Ah, the Massassi Sapphire! A pristine jewel it was, imbued with the most powerful alchemies ever conjured by Naga Sadow. Its beauty was unsurpassable and it gave the strongest in the Darkside of the Force that much more power. The Jedi had come into possession of this holy jewel after the fall of Exar Kun and the last of the Massassi. So fearful they were of its evident superior magicks, the Council imprisoned it in a Force-fortified vault for generations until it was decided that the jewel must be spirited away to a corner of the universe where no Sith, should the Order again arise, would dream of searching for it. And now…now the Massassi Sapphire would once more shine gloriously in the hands of the Sith. Darth Maul fancied taking the Massassi Sapphire as his own, but he knew doing so would swiftly drive him mad, so great was the jewel's power. The Force was too strong in the Darkside for Maul to withstand. Someday, though, the young Sith Lord would be powerful enough to invoke the Massassi Sapphire's alchemies and, when that day came, Sidious would become nothing but a whisper in the history of the Sith as Maul rose in glory to take his place on the throne of the universe.

Finding a dark comfort in his ambitious reverie, Maul activated the probes to begin the tedious process of locating any non-Terran anomalies on the forest floor. As the probes began their work, circling and spiraling in an ever-widening ellipse, Darth Maul set out deeper into the forest, in a Northward direction, to explore this alien world and seek the Massassi Sapphire in his own way.

Birds of what seemed an infinite variety called in warning at Maul's approach, and fell into a fearful silence at his passing. Small animals scurried at Maul's feet, frantically seeking the safety of the fallen foliage. All around Darth Maul the Force emanated a never-ending pulse of Creation. The effect was intoxicating to the Sith Lord, but he maintained his control and channeled the spontaneous ecstasy of this power into a Force beacon. Surging from the depths of his being, a call went forth to the Massassi Sapphire. Maul could almost see the air around him ripple with the sheer strength of the beacon. The forest seemed to hold its breath in the wake of this burst of ancient energy. Even the slight breeze died in awe of Maul's dark power. The dormant energies of the jewel would resonate in response to the Darkside herald, and Maul would concentrate his quest in the direction of jewel's call.

The Sith Lord stood impossibly still, waiting, expectant. Moments passed by, then Maul began to move onwards, ire stirring in his breast for having received no indication of the Massassi Sapphire's presence.

Calico leaves floated downwards all around Darth Maul in a delicate dance of Death the Sith Lord appreciated both aesthetically and philosophically. It was a calm surrender to the Ending of Things, to a power greater than any one being could fathom. It was that power to which Lord Maul was dedicated. It was the devotion to that power's primal nature that found Lord Maul on this remote planet.

Maul glanced at his controller, noting that the probes were now five miles away from their activation point, diligently scanning every inch of the forest as they circled. The Massassi Sapphire would be found.

Tapping into the Force once more, its dangerous threads of energy caressing Maul's mind with a pleasure of which he never tired, the young Lord sent out the call once again. Almost instantly, he felt a tremour in the Force ~ a response to his beacon. Darth Maul cocked his head as though listening to a faint strain of some beloved melody. It was unmistakable: the Sith relic ~ the Massassi Sapphire sang out to its own! His ebony garments moving languidly against him like liquid midnight, Maul swayed in an almost erotic communion with the jewel's incredible energies.

The moon illumined the forest with an eerie silver light as Darth Maul spun and headed in a North-Easterly direction. The jewel was not very far away at all. He could feel its overwhelming power coursing through him, throbbing with an ancient and forbidden language of the Force. A sound escaped his lips ~ part growl, part moan ~ as Darth Maul made haste to the beacon's source, his Will unswayed. He felt the stirrings of an erection, so aroused he was by the potency of the relic's call, and the Sith Lord instinctively rubbed his organ through his robes in an attempt to ease the tension mounting in every fibre of his being. His hood billowed at the sides of his head, Darth Maul was walking so quickly, weaving flawlessly in amongst the nearly-sleeping trees. The call was nigh unbearable in its painful perfection. Black shapes, manifestations of the Dark Power driving him, clouded the Sith Lord's eyes and every step he took shot a jolt of exquisite torment from the tip of his swollen member up through the base of his spine. Only detaching his awareness of his body kept Maul from releasing and soiling his robes. Closer, closer……..the Massassi Sapphire was very near to him now. Soon, it would be in his possession, bringing the Sith one step closer to victory.

It seemed only a matter of a few more steps and the jewel would be Maul's. Suddenly the ground was no longer beneath him! Maul felt himself plunging downward, no chance to halt his fall. He braced himself for impact and, though he hit rather roughly, Maul's training prevented him from being seriously injured. Still in half-crouch position, he shot an angry gaze to the opening about 25 feet above him, and sprung upwards. About halfway up an invisible barrier halted his ascent, sending the Sith Lord plunging back to the bottom. A growl of fury passed Darth Maul's bared teeth. Impossible! This could not be happening to him!

PT.2

**DREAMS OF IRIDONIA**

In little children's heavy heads my dreams erupt while in my bed. Innocence is, innocence is, innocence is dripping red. ~**Coil "Love's Secret Domain"**

Maul sat down on the dusty ground of the pit and explored this invisible cap that barred his way to freedom. It was Force made, but generated neither from the Lightside nor the Dark. Perplexing as well as vexing. He pushed at it with his mind, softly at first, then with all his might. There was no change.

Using the Force brought the omnipresent energies of the Massassi Sapphire to prominence in Lord Maul's awareness. They curled around the Sith Lord like mating serpents. Consumed with the ecstasy of the power of the Dark, Darth Maul knelt, drew away his robes and leather gloves, and took his member in hand. Dusky black except for the tip, which was a shining crimson, glistening with the sticky nectar of arousal, it pulsated in his hand, in rhythm with the waves of resonance coming from the nearby Sith relic. Slowly, he pulled on himself, reveling in the shivers that shook his spine. Maul gradually picked up the pace of his strokes, fingering the erogenous areas at the base of his horns with his other hand. With his mind filled with erotic images of the ancient and bestial Massassi, engaging in Force enhanced orgies before the witness of Naga Sadow Maul arched back and groaned, as he expelled long threads of silvery-white fluid with each pulse of the Force that possessed him. Minutes passed and still the Sith Lord climaxed, leaving his seed spattered on the wall and floor of the pit.. Maul trembled from head to toe with the intensity of his climax, but at least now he could focus on how to escape this trap and vanquish the soul whom had laid it so well.

"Are you quite through sullying the hole I worked so hard to dig, Sith animal?"

Maul jumped to his feet, tucked his softening organ behind the layers of his robes, and glared upwards to meet the steely eyes of a young woman with a crown of Autumn leaves interwoven in her short dark hair. He could only see her head as she was obviously lying on the ground, peeking over the edge of the pit. Her smile…no it was not a smile, it was a smirk…it gave her pretty face an air of wise sorrow poorly-concealed as mirth.

"You will drop the barrier," Maul said to her. The woman's breath caught upon hearing Maul's silken voice. She could almost feel his hand on her cheek as he spoke. She strengthened the barrier.

Maul felt the barrier thicken and cocked his head in a combination of controlled fury and rampant curiosity of this power the girl possessed.

"What is your name?" He half-asked, half-demanded.

"Call me Seshat," she said, and she was gone.

She heard the Sith Lord shout after her for release as she made her way back to her cabin. His voice cut through her soul in a way that both frightened and intrigued her. Seshat felt a wave of goose bumps course up her legs and buttocks at the growls and shouts that echoed behind her.

Upon entrusting her with the Massassi Sapphire, the Botanists had told Seshat that the day might come when the Sith would find her. Seshat's teacher had been proficient in the Force and taught her many techniques of defense and aversion that Seshat could use in conjunction with her own Earth Magicks. And he had dispensed wisdom.

"Surround your fortress with traps and fortify them with the magicks you have learned," he instructed telepathically. "If the Sith come, spirit the Massassi Sapphire away to the second guardian and conceal yourself in a pre-determined haven until the danger has passed. Here is a map that will lead you to the second guardian. If the time comes for you to flee, look for Elliott."

He smiled sweetly up at Seshat.

"Seshat, you are uniquely powerful amongst your people. We have faith that you will endure this trial with a nobility unmatched by any in the Universe. This tainted jewel will plague you at times, but you have shown an uncanny strength of Will. To be sure you do not suffer, take this." And the Botanist touched Seshat on her forehead, his finger shining gently with the glow of comfort. Time stopped for Seshat at that moment and a peace surrounded her. That peace had been with her, in her perpetual youth for seventeen years….until now.

Now, the Sith had broken through that peace. Seshat closed her eyes and all she could see was the wild beauty of this being pleasuring himself with an abandon as alien to her as he. A disturbance tickled at her sensibilities, leaving Seshat restless and agitated.

She entered her sparse cabin, moved the solitary chair to one side, and opened the exposed trap door to reveal the Massassi Sapphire, nestle in the small compartment, sparking with a sheen like fallen snow at night ~ a blue so blinding, it was undeniably supernatural. In the depths and facets of the jewel, the minute drop of Naga Sadow's blood could be clearly seen, forever burning with chaotic energy few dared to tap. It was time for Seshat to take the jewel to Elliott.

Sometimes, when Seshat gazed upon the Massassi Sapphire, she felt the urge to utter arcane words and whisper songs unknown to her. Fright would almost envelope her when the peace her teacher had given her would overcome it, and the compulsion to sing along with the jewel's resonance would subside.

Tonight the Sapphire was ablaze with activity and strove to draw Seshat into its frantic emanations. In a swoon, Seshat struggled with the cold light surrounding her. She slammed the trap door and sat, weeping, on the floor. She couldn't set out tonight. She would have to rest first. The wielding of so much power to maintain the Sith's trap and guard herself against his power had drained Seshat. _I'll sleep, _she thought to herself. _And in the morning, I'll be on my way._

But her slumber was fraught with dreams and visions. Painfully beautiful imagery haunted Seshat's dreams of a planet in perpetual Twilight, the cool air graced with a perfect moisture lingering there, it seemed, only to invigorate the blessed inhabitants. Songs and merriment were all around Seshat as the people, on whom she couldn't truly focus, joined in celebration. But here attention was drawn to a nearby forest and she found herself walking into the canopied sanctuary. Silence wrapped the forest in a blanket of anticipation as Seshat saw yellow eyes flash like flames from a funeral byre, illuminating the shadows of the twilit wood. The glance inspired both fear and desire in Seshat's heart and she was powerless to leave this magickal place.

He emerged slowly from the shadows, like a great cat moving upon its blissfully ignorant prey. Black within black, blessed velvet menace, the Sith Lord revealed himself to the rapture of Nature all around them. Shed of his robes, he stretched his muscular arms and cast back his horn-crowned head to the witness of the stars. His skin was smooth and hairless and more ebony than ebony itself ~ a black so true as to be unreal. And it was decorated with hypnotic red designs, angled to arouse as much as terrify. He looked directly at Seshat, a growl of satisfaction rumbling up from his chest and passing his supple lips in a song of seduction that seemed to echo throughout the forest.

Seshat was in earnest to embrace this being, to wrap her arms and legs around him and have him fill her up with his heat and danger. Feeling a tickle between her legs, she looked down and saw blood flowing from her sex and puddling at her feet.

The Sith Lord flared his nostrils as he gazed at Seshat trembling before him.

"I can smell you," he said in that impossibly wonderful voice and an orgasm exploded throughout Seshat's body at his words. She fell to her knees in her own blood, her body wracked with spasms of pleasure.

The Sith Lord walked up to her, his heat reaching Seshat before he did. He knelt before her, dipping his finger in her blood. Seshat watched, horrified and aroused, as the Sith touched his tongue to his finger, savouring the taste of her femaleness. He then leaned over her and took her mouth in his, letting the blood mingle with their saliva as Seshat felt the Sith Lord's burning tongue probe her mouth hungrily. Her body throbbed with perpetual rapture as she felt her soul surrender to the dark forest of her dreams.

Seshat leapt from her bed, breathless and shaking with desire. And she was angry. Why did this Sith Lord plague her so? Perhaps she should teach him a lesson before she took her leave of this place. That's exactly what she should do.

Wrapping a cloak about her and taking up some rope, Seshat made her way back to the pit that held her dangerous guest.

**PT.3**

**THE WOUNDING OF PRIDE**

_Invading my own value, parading my shy security while gripping my innocence – thief. Whenever you steal, my punishment's real. You gave me sorrow. ~__**Delerium "Enchanted"**_

Lord Maul heard his captor's approach. His sharp senses were even more heightened by the Massassi Sapphire's proximity, making it difficult to focus from the overwhelming awareness of not only everything around him, but also of his own body. It seemed as though Maul's own carnality, by no means inhibited, had flared in an intensity that had only seemed to increase with his earlier attempt to relieve himself of his wanton inclinations. The footsteps stopped at the edge of the pit and Maul looked up to meet Seshat's eyes. They were different than before ~ glazed and licentious.

Maul suddenly felt as though a great hand scooped him up and lifted him to the edge of the pit. He still couldn't sense very much of the Force in the power the woman was using but, what he did sense, Maul noted it was now tinged with the Darkside. Seshat deposited Maul on his feet before her, still holding him fast. There Seshat stood, draped in white gossamer, shining like a being of light from the days of myth. He watched, powerless, furious, and fascinated, as his lightsabre was whisked from his belt, landing in Seshat's waiting hand. She looked at the weapon in curiosity, then threw it into the bushes.

She pushed at Maul with invisible promptings until he was between two young trees. There, between the trees, Seshat bound Maul's hands with the ropes and placed a seal on them that the Sith Lord couldn't break with the Force. Standing back from him, Seshat studied Maul with disdain and pushed him to the ground, the ropes going taught.

"You dare enter my dreams?" She said, anger clouding her gentle voice. "All your power, all your training, and you've been overwhelmed by a forest girl."

Her words cut Darth Maul deeper than any sabre could have. He struggled against his bonds to no avail. But Seshat quietly laughed and fell down beside him, whispering in his ear.

"I could be your worst nightmare."

Maul's robes were instantly whisked away and Seshat stood, circling the Sith Lord. Staring down at him, Seshat noted that he was exactly as she had dreamt him: the shade of midnight with jagged red slashes gracing his lithe body. He reminded her of a tiger in his appearance and demeanor and Seshat found herself holding her breath with the excitement this alien man inspired in her. Her eyes trailed slowly down his taught body and rested on his erect penis, lying rigid against the Sith Lord's stomach, it's head brutally scarlet. How did he endure the pain of the genital tattoo? She wondered. Seshat prodded Maul's organ casually with her toes and, against his strongest Will, Maul's hips raised in response to her touch.

"You really have no control at all, do you, Sith animal?"

Maul shot Seshat a look filled with all the hatred he could muster. How dare she speak to him, who was her better in every way, in such a manner? When he was shed of these traps the Earthwoman had so deftly woven around him, Maul would surely kill her.

Trailing her foot up and down his throbbing shaft, Seshat smiled joylessly. Again, she drew near to Maul's face, her cool hands on his chest.

"It's all a ruse, isn't it, Sith animal? You really have no control. Had you the control I'd heard your Order were masters of, you wouldn't be prone here on the forest floor, the toy of a 'barely sentient lifeform on a primitive planet.'" Seshat quoted Sidious as though she had actually been there when the Sith Master had ordered Maul to Earth to find the Massassi Sapphire.

"Your own carnality enslaves you," she said, gripping firmly onto Maul's penis, making him instinctively thrust at her, shaming and angering him even more. Seshat straddled the Sith Lord's chest and he could feel the hot wetness of her spread out across his nipples. Slowly, with a deliciousness Maul couldn't deny, however much he tried to, the Earth girl placed her lips against his and kissed him gently and with a lingering sweetness. She tasted like lotus and blackberry, a child of nature.

Maul probed her mind at this moment, sensing a brief weakness, an opening in her barrier. Yes, he could feel the Massassi Sapphire's influence upon the Earth child, who wasn't a child at all. He saw a hapless, homeless girl, whisked away from the hell of the city and trained by the Botanists for her distinct abilities in Earth Magicks and the manipulation of natural energies: a social castaway whose own people were incapable of seeing the gift that walked amongst them. But her days as pariah had marked her with the potential for darkness ~ a weakness in the wall of Light that had surrounded Seshat for so long, keeping her young beyond the years normally allowed. It was that stain that widened now, with the arrival of the Sith and the awakening of the Massassi Sapphire. Her derision of Maul was as much for herself as it was for him, Maul realised. Still, it made him feel no less angry towards Seshat, only less furious with himself at falling into this strangely powerful trap.

And indeed, she was beautiful, this alien woman with leaves framing her face and white fabric clinging invitingly to her ample body. Her gold-specked blue eyes shone excitedly from her olive-skinned visage, the vision of erotic madness. And the warm wetness that trailed down his chest and tickled his armpits drove Maul to distraction, regardless of his mental protests.

Seshat moved her mouth away from Maul's and began to trail her tongue along the base of Maul's frontal horn. Maul's felt the skin at the base of the horn tighten with arousal and his testes began to ache for release. Against his Will, Maul moaned in response to this irresistible stimulation.

When he moaned, Seshat drew the entire horn into her mouth, letting her tongue explore it's ridges and valleys, concentrating on the point of growth, the sensitive base where the skin seemed to twitch with an enchanting anticipation at her probings. Maul began to chuff, the arousal was too much for him. He must have release.

"Untie me," he said to her, prompting the command with a push from the Force.

Seshat reared back and struck the Sith Lord across the face with all her might. "You try to influence me like that again and I'll bite your fucking horns off, Sith animal!"

The blow brought tears to Maul's eyes and he responded by spitting in Seshat's face, fully expecting another hard slap, but too angry to care. Instead, Seshat devoured Maul's mouth with an uncanny hunger, grinding her wetness against his chest.

_She is mad,_ Maul thought. _The Sapphire has taken her over._

Seshat moved up and covered Maul's face with her flowing mound. Her muskiness enveloped Maul's senses and he instinctively lapped at the soft folds of skin, delighting in Seshat's juices, as the Earthwoman roughly stroked the bases of Maul's horns. The Sith Lord's penis began to twitch with the promise of climax and his testicles felt near to bursting from the tension.

And suddenly she was gone. Seshat stood over him, her face flushed from the stimulation of Maul's rough tongue, and she said, "Remember this the next time you invade a woman's dreams."

The Earthwoman walked away from him, her white garments flowing elegantly behind her. Darth Maul could not believe it. Surely was wasn't going to leave him in this state of arousal, naked, tied and Forcebound in the forest? And what did she mean by invading a woman's dreams? Maul looked after her, too proud to shout for release this time, shaking with anger and sexuality.

After Seshat could no longer be seen, Maul tested the ropes one more time. They were still fortified with Force safeguards. There was no budging them. The Sith Lord's erection ached beyond belief, lying burning on his belly, staring blindly back at him, the veins standing out painfully. Focusing on his organ, Maul cradled it with the Force, surrounding it with comfort and blessed caresses.

Maul closed his eyes and let the power he had mastered so long ago, in all its dark desire, envelope his penis in earnest. There is only the here and now. No yesterday, no tomorrow. Only the present task of finding desperate release. His hatred of Seshat combined with the power he emanated, and Maul focused all that energy on rubbing his shaft and sac in spiraling, endless strokes.

Glancing down, Lord Maul saw the glistening droplet of liquid seep promisingly out of the tip of his penis, and he guided the Force to massage the moisture into the crimson head of his member. His breath coming quickly now, Maul thrust into the invisible energy at work on his sex. He drew his legs beneath him like an acrobat and thrust harder and harder into the ecstasy he wove about himself. The rubbing and stroking of the Force extended from his genitals to the sensitive circlet of Maul's anus, making him jerk and jump ever fervently.

The pain Seshat had caused Maul became an unbearable pleasure as the Sith Lord exploded into the air above him, and was covered with his own orgasmic spume. Gobbets of hot, gingery liquid landed on Maul's rippling abdomen and chest, and dotted his face and mouth. Heaving for oxygen, Maul's tongue flicked out and tasted his own secretions, his thoughts turning to how Seshat would suffer as he fell into deep, post-climactic slumber.

**PT.4**

**FLIGHT**

_I hear her voice calling my name. The sound is deep in the dark. I hear her voice and start to run into the trees, into the trees ~~__**The Cure "A Forest"**_

Seshat trembled violently at the thought of what she had just done. How could she have behaved in such a manner? Shakily pulling on her jeans and a flannel and removing her halo of leaves, the forest guardian prepared to leave her refuge immediately. She was ashamed and confused, yet still possessed with dark desire for the Sith she left ensnared in the forest.

"It had to have been the Massassi Sapphire," Seshat said to herself, thinking back on her actions. Indeed, it had the power of the Sith, the most concentrated power ever. She couldn't be immune to it forever, surely. Her time was almost up, Seshat could feel it. Either she made her way to Elliott, or it would be too late. She could already sense her hold on the Sith weakening.

Seshat tied her boots tightly around her ankles and stuffed a few necessities in her backpack: a change of clothes, identification, a compass, her protection mirror, her pentacle, some granola and water, the Botanists' map, and money ~ $800.00 for travel expenses. California was a distance from the forests of British Columbia. Clasping her Triskelion pendant around her neck, Seshat returned to the trap door and retrieved the Massassi Sapphire.

Touching it brought all manner of erotic visions to her mind and she was tempted to return to the forest to tease the Sith animal some more. No! Dawn would be here soon and Seshat had to be on her way before it was too late to run. The guardian placed the jewel in a tin container, marked with sigils of protection, and threw it into her backpack. Looking back at her humble home of almost 18 years from the doorway, Seshat blinked back tears and ran out into the world, still cowled in darkness.

She was three miles away from her cabin when the sun began to peak over the horizon. Relief permeated her heart, but only for a moment. The Earthmagick barrier Seshat had placed around the Sith Lord had weakened and dissipated. Seshat suddenly felt his power surge and knew that he was free and that he would be coming for her.

Seshat began to run.

Being akin to the forest for so long, her steps were precise and light, carrying Seshat swiftly along without even a snag or fall. She tried to control her fear at feeling the Sith leap up from the forest floor and call out to her and the jewel she carried. If Seshat succumbed to her fear, she would be damned. With all her Will, Sheshat tapped into the Botanist's peace to keep her focused on her flight.

Maul had felt the bonds loosen and gently fade from his body. He lost no time shedding himself of the ropes, rising with the sun, bright with power. The Sith Lord crouched, naked in the forest, testing his stiff muscles one by one. He rolled his horn-crowned head from one side to the other, loosening up the joints and tendons, and he rocked back and forth on his heels like a panther ready to pounce. Yes, it was good to be free of the trap. The liberation was sweet. Sweeter still was the vengeance Maul would have on his lovely captor, who was running as though her life were dependent upon eluding his attention even as he stretched languidly. Wise girl, that one.

Lord Maul looked about for his Sith tunic and robes, finding them buried underneath a mound of oak leaves along with his boots. He brushed them off as best he could and calmly dressed. The influence of the Sapphire was far away, giving the Sith Lord back his faculties. It was good, because his loins had settled sore and were tender to the touch. Maul didn't think he could take much more stimulation and he never thought he would admit such a thing to himself, having ravished so many in his day, oftentimes for the pleasure of his voyeuristic and sexually deviant Master. _No wonder the Massassi were mad, _Maul thought to himself. _If the jewel affected them so, its power unchecked, many no doubt died from the madness of desire._

Picking up his controller, he keyed in the command for the probes to return immediately to his Infiltrator. And, as he began the journey back to the ship himself, Maul raised his hand as an afterthought, retrieving his lightsabre from the nearby bushes, hooking it to his belt.

Maul strode purposefully through the forest, revenge and retrieval on his mind. Sparks crackled at his feet from the power of the Force he was holding merely as an outlet for his anger. Tiny fires were left in his wake, but Maul cared not if the entire land burned behind him, so consumed was he with his Will to power.

Sending out a thread of the Force to keep connected with the forest woman, Maul sensed that she had picked up her pace and had reached a roadway. Coming upon his Infiltrator, Maul entered its red interior to prepare for the chase.

He readied his ground transport, fortifying it with various weapons and poisons in case the Sith Lord found himself at a disadvantage. _Not likely…not again…_He thought to himself, rather shamed that he'd fallen into a trap in the first place. After pulling the transport out of the ship, Maul proceeded to bring the glamour over himself. Not even Sidious could do this, nor did Maul's Master know that Maul was capable of it.

Sitting lotus in the quiet of the forest, dots of fire from his steps still crackling here and there, Maul closed his eyes and allowed the Force to "change" him. He would be able to walk among the primitives of this planet and all they would see would be a human male, dressed in black. Indeed, they would avoid him instinctively. The fear would keep them at bay. But they would not see his horns or tribal tattoos, if they chose to see him at all. The only one who would be able to see Maul in his true form would be Seshat. And that's what Maul wanted. He planned on haunting her to the point of her having a breakdown. She was already close to that now, carrying the burden of the Massassi Sapphire. Oh, how she would pay…..

Maul leapt upon his transport and headed in the direction of the jewel's call.

**PT.5**

**PREDATOR AND PREY**

_I see the man around the corner waiting, does he see me? I close my eyes and wait to hear the sound of someone screaming here ~~__**Ozzy Osbourne "No More Tears"**_

It was nigh to noon when Seshat found her way into the bus terminal in Smithers. She felt the Sith Lord seeking her out. She felt it as surely as she did her own heart beating painfully in her chest. What distressed her is that she couldn't discern whether her heart pounded with fright or arousal. Shame permeated every cell in Seshat's body. She had proved unworthy of the gentle Botanists. It was better for Elliott to take charge of the Sapphire before Seshat relinquished it and herself to the Sith Lord pursuing her.

She bought a ticket for Sacramento, California, and sat in the Greyhound terminal, clutching her backpack to her chest and looking around, alert to her surroundings. It was going to be a long wait for the bus and an even longer journey once Seshat boarded. She just hoped that she could be far away from the Sith before he could positively locate her and take the jewel. Her behaviour had already been a travesty to all that the Botanist's had taught her. She couldn't fail them utterly by losing the Massassi Sapphire to the Sith.

Seshat could feel his movement. He was swift, she sensed. Probably using some form of transport. And he was weaving in amongst the trees and thickets, following her trail. She shivered. Somehow the Sapphire had linked her and the Sith. As long as she possessed it, the Sith Lord would pursue her until he had her in his clutches to do with as he pleased. Again, Seshat shivered, this time from the undeniable thrill of thinking of this creature.

His golden eyes all but glowed in the night as she had straddled him, looking down in domination and triumph. So deep they were with untapped power and passion. Seshat could lose herself in the Sith's endless gaze, the rage and carnality she found there. His fluid movements could have been those of a dancer as much as of the killer Seshat knew the Sith was. Her breath had caught in awe of his beauty when the Sith had initially attempted to leap out of the pit. Every muscle worked in isolation from the other to create a graceful whole. Even the Sith's act of masturbation had been a deliberate one of liquid elegance. And the voice, used so rarely, that seemed to caress and compel. How could an agent of evil be so irresistible? How could Seshat, a Jedi-appointed guardian, be so susceptible to his influence?

Seshat closed her eyes and saw the Sith staring back at her, a look of furious amusement on his face. It was then that Seshat knew that, if she must die, she wanted to die by the Sith's hand. She wanted to die screaming with ardour for this vicious alien man. Seshat's body rippled in response to her vision and thoughts, and she felt herself smiling, despite her exhaustion and fear.

"Oh my God, Miss, are you alright?"

Seshat's eyes flew open to behold a middle-aged woman standing over her, worry wrinkling her face. The woman was staring at Seshat's legs, so Seshat followed the woman's gaze to find that her jeans were dripping with blood. Seshat jumped from her seat, which was puddled up with blood, and ran to the ladies' restroom, leaving a trail behind her.

As she cleaned herself up and allowed herself to cry, Seshat vowed not to drift into reverie about the Sith Lord again. Her dream of bleeding for wont of him was becoming reality now. It was finally too much for Seshat to withstand. The terror ripped through her and she burst out of the restroom and the stale air of the bus terminal, into the quaintness of the small Canadian town.

Looking around for any sign of the Sith Lord, Seshat placed her pack on her back and began to walk. It was still two hours before the bus arrived and she couldn't bear the thoughts of staying confined to the terminal, fighting her thoughts the entire time.

Maul watched Seshat run from the terminal and make her way down the street. At last he had found her. He could sense the Massassi Sapphire muffled in a metal prison, and its power swept over him in ecstasy. The Sith Lord must have the jewel. His quest was one of need now. It belonged to the Sith and no one would stand in the Order's way to retrieve the treasure.

Emerging from his resting place, Maul followed Seshat down the street. The sun shone upon him so brightly that not even Maul's blue-hued secondary eyelids could help him withstand its brightness, so he covered his head with the hood of his cloak Everyone who passed him saw only the glamour Maul had wrapped around himself: that of a calmly dangerous young human male. Not a person to be reckoned with, surely.

Seshat paused briefly and looked around, sensing the Sith Lord's presence despite his Force cloaks to remain concealed from the forest child, at least for now. The signal was weak and she did not see him, proceeding around the corner. Maul smiled as he watched her. He would enjoy taming this one, making her pay for her violation of him. _And such a pretty victim she would be_, he thought, envisioning Seshat's plump hips quivering at his touch as he bit into her shoulder, making her beg for the joyous torment of his carnal worship. Yes, her breaking would linger in Maul's fonder memories for all time, he was certain.

Rounding the corner after her, Maul found himself in a crowd of human females. They were assembled in front of a cinema, whatever that was, and they were highly agitated. The air crackled with an energy Maul could only describe as a primal, unbridled Force. As he moved through them, trying to keep Seshat in sight, one of the women looked directly at him and said, "Are you real?"

The women nearby looked around to see what was going on and, to Maul's surprise, one of them screamed ~ not in fear, but in excitement. Surely they could not see past his glamour! A stab of fear shot through the Sith Lord as the women surrounded him, all speaking at once about what, he did not understand. Maul caught phrases like "He has blue eyes!" and "Check for the earring!" as he looked over the deluge to see Seshat slip away.

Bombarded from all sides by the human females, Lord Maul crouched suddenly and shot straight into the air, backflipping to the other side of the street. He glanced up at the cinema's sign as the women made their way across the road to reach him, and Maul saw the unbelievable: on the sign was a perfect representation of himself! How could this be? What strange power was at work on this planet that Maul's distinct visage would be featured so prominently? How did these women see past his glamour and why did they react in such a manner? And what in Force's name was a cinema? The Sith Lord stared up at himself in amazement, but only for a moment. The females were swiftly approaching and Maul feared that their attentions may prove deadly. Striking them all down would bring too much attention, so flight was his only recourse for now.

By the time the females made it to where the Sith Lord had leapt, all they found was the heady scent of cinnamon and an exotic musky aroma. Maul was long gone and on the trail of Seshat once more.

He found her in a park, walking in amongst the trees. Now was the time for the initial revelation, just to let her know that he was present and that escape was simply impossible.

As Seshat rounded a tree and looked out across the park, she saw the Sith Lord mere yards away, his hood sheltering his horned head. When he looked up at her, Seshat beheld pure blue eyes shining from the Sith's red and black face. So shocking it was to see the creature just standing there, gazing at her menacingly, that Seshat lost the strength in her legs and fell to her knees. What had happened to his eyes?

The moment Seshat fell, Lord Maul began to stride toward her. He had no intention of capturing her now. No, he wanted to draw out the sweetness of her fear, savour it with a dread delight. A sort of merriment welled in Darth Maul's chest as he felt Seshat's terror and desire wash over him almost as strongly as the resonance from the Massassi Sapphire. He watched Seshat scramble backwards to distance herself from the Sith Lord to no avail. He was over her now, standing majestically and casting his eerie blue stare upon her.

Seshat covered her eyes and screamed. But nothing happened.

The Sith Lord was gone. Could she possibly have imagined his presence? Might she be going mad?

Above her Maul lay in a great tree, feline and predatory, appreciating the friction of the branch against his growing manhood. He watched with satisfaction as Seshat drew shakily to her feet and hurried as best as she could back to the supposed safety of the Greyhound bus terminal. The game of madness had begun.

**PT.6**

**THE INVASION**

_An invisible touch on the back of my neck. Fingerprints lingering, warm breath. I'm either going insane or I'm a human wire, receiving a signal ~ desire, desire__**! ~Concrete Blonde "Walking in London**_

Convinced that her vision of Maul was nothing short of an hallucination brought on by her connection with the Massassi Sapphire, Seshat sought out the Gift of Peace and held tightly to its comfort as she boarded the southbound bus. Munching on some granola, the forest guardian plopped into her seat and glanced out the window at the small crowd still outside. In a couple of days, she could hand the Sapphire over to Elliott and withdraw to heal and wait for the Sith threat to pass.

The bus lunged slowly forward, beginning Seshat's journey to what she hoped would be redemption.

Twilight graced the land once more and Maul stood on a high hill overlooking the highway, watching the bus speed along as though racing the setting sun. He reached out with his mind, seeking the mind of Seshat. It slumbered, Maul could tell. Now was the time to find out who and where the second guardian was. The Sith Lord effortlessly lowered himself to the moist ground, closed his eyes, and Dreamed.

She was in her meditative refuge, the Shamanic place of Oneness created by Seshat while she trained with the Botanists. It was a ruins of an ancient temple, girded with a perfect circle of ancient oaks, their foliage mingling to form a natural canopy above the crumbling stones. The ground was composed of soft, verdant moss and was cleft by a small brook that seemed to sing reverence. Seshat would come here in her dreams on occasion and lie naked on the mossy blankets, rejuvenating and reflecting.

But she felt a presence this time in her Canopy Ruins. Before Seshat could rise from the ground to look around, the Sith Lord was upon her.

He lay on her back, his skin impossibly hot and dry. His shaft was nestled between the cheeks of her buttocks, a rigid flame.

"Ssssshhhhh," he breathed in her ear before Seshat could protest. And he just lay there, caressing the forest guardian, a barely audible purr working it's way through his chest. "Your anger intrigued me last night, Earth child. Seshat, is it?" That voice! Like aural confection it was.

"Seshat, I am a Dark Lord of the Sith…you know this. I am Darth Maul," he crooned, moving his hand beneath him to rest one hot finger in Seshat's moistness, then on to her tingling anus. Slowly he worked his finger inside of her. "Breathe, pet, breathe. I am not here to……hurt you. I am here to tell you the truth about the Massassi Sapphire and ask you to hand it over to me of your own free will."

The Sith Lord did not move his finger. He merely let it rest inside of her, arousing her more than any movement could have. He was so incredibly hot, as though his body were raging with fever. Seshat's insides burned from Maul's touch. His finger still inside of her, Maul raised his head to Seshat's shoulder and licked her like a cat cleaning its young. Seshat gasped with pain. His tongue wasn't just rough, it was barbed, again like a cat's. Visions of tigers licking the pelts off their pray ripped through Seshat's mind as Maul continued his cleaning of her. Between laps, the Sith Lord spoke.

"The drop of blood you see in the Sapphire is the very last remnant of Sith Wizard and Alchemist Naga Sadow. 'Twas his magicks who turned the Massassi into the beasts of infamy. But it wasn't always so…."

Maul pushed his finger deeper inside Seshat and proceeded to clean her arms with his wicked tongue. The mixture of pleasure and pain was making it hard for Seshat to focus on Maul's lesson.

"The Massassi were beings of great power, harbouring the primal urges of all sentient beings and, once being Sith themselves, being able to channel those urges into feats of power unimaginable. The temples on Yavin IV were……erected…with the chaotic power of desire. Theirs was a cult of passion beyond your wildest dreams."

Maul began to move his finger in and out of Seshat's tightness, removing it only briefly to moisten it with his long reptilian tongue. Then back to the deed with a fury he went, twisting to one side to look into Seshat's eyes and see the effect his anal intrusion was having on the forest guardian. She looked back at him with eyes misted over with the promise of rapture. Maul proceeded to clean her face in long, unbearable strokes. It felt like a million cuts, like razors lightly chafing her skin. The horror and the wonder of it all!

"When word reached Naga Sadow that the Jedi were coming to purge our world….our Sith world, he conjured the Massassi Sapphire as a means to preserve and protect the glory of the Massassi race and the wisdoms he himself had brought forth from the Darkness and Void, the origins of all Mystery hidden and revealed. Within the jewel Naga Sadow placed every shred of knowledge he possessed. And he cut himself deeply, an almost mortal wound, to take a pure drop of blood from his own heart to bind and seal the alchemies of the Sapphire."

Maul place his lips against Seshat's ear, his breath heavy from the stimulation he was giving her. He twisted his finger in and out, in and out, in a rhythm that was maddening to Seshat. Too fast, yet too slow, to give her release ~ just an endless motion of arousal upon arousal. Her sex undulated for its own stimulation, only to be denied.

"He took the best of the Massassi and transferred their souls into that precious drop of blood. By the fires of Eternity and the freezing winds of Infinity, Naga Sadow gave Life to the lifeless jewel. It was his last act of grace before turning the remaining Massassi into murderous animals for the purpose of retaliation on the Jedi hypocrites who came with intolerance as their badge of righteousness."

With those last words, Maul shoved his finger roughly into Seshat, spurring a grunt of discomfort from the forest woman. Maul withdrew his finger and returned to his original position, resting the length of his shaft against Seshat, and cradling her head in his hands. The Sith Lord whispered, his words and voice mingling to create an almost tangible joy.

"And Naga Sadow waited," Maul said, lightly brushing Seshat's ear with his tongue. "He waited with the Massassi monsters for the Jedi and he watched the Massassi engage in endless orgies in the temples and palaces of Yavin IV, being influenced by the primeval power of the Sapphire their Dark Lord possessed. Their inner chaos grew stronger still as they, in turn, nourished the Sapphire's magicks. When the Jedi came, the warriors would be ready."

The Sith Lord moved against Seshat, rubbing his hardness against her cheeks and up her spine.

"It was all to no avail. The Sith were driven into hiding until the coming of Exar Kun, who found the precious jewel hidden in a vault in the most holy of Massassi Temples." Maul's voice came in gentle huffs as he worked his body against Seshat, who found herself moving in time with the Sith. "Thus was the tradition started, that the Master Sith should possess the jewel and draw on its chaotic Force to enhance his mastery of the Arts. Other, lesser Sith have sought to control the Massassi Sapphire, but they fell into madness and obscurity. Only the One may hold the jewel, a symbol of his training and superiority."

Seshat suddenly felt Maul's shaft painfully invade the hole he had explored with his hot finger. It was like a sword, still white from forging, stabbing deeply into her. And he didn't withdraw. Lord Maul merely lingered there, his belly against her buttocks, as he stroked Seshat's hair and kissed her softly on the neck.

"Will you give it to me, my fair Earth child?"

Choking back tears from the burning pain that invaded her most intimate orifice, Seshat shook her head. "No, Sith," she managed to hiss. "I will not."

"Oh, pet, but you will. Eventually, you will do anything I say." Maul kissed Seshat again and nuzzled at her throat, purring deeply. Seshat caught her breath with the thrill of hearing this deadly creature voice passion against her skin and feeling his agonizing hotness lodged inside of her. Throughout Seshat's body, her muscles tightened, and she screamed with the intensity of her climax. It was then that Maul began to move slowly in and out of her in long, excruciating thrusts that made Seshat come again, even though she cried from the pain the Sith Lord drove into her.

"No, please, please, it hurts!" Seshat sobbed.

But Maul merely licked away her tears, chafing her face with his barbed tongue and said, as he picked up the pace of his thrusting, "Why are you coming all over me if it hurts so bad?"

Reaching beneath her, Maul began to stroke Seshat's sex, moving his finger in circles over her clit and to her throbbing hole, which was covered with a thin membrane. Surprise made the Sith Lord pause his travails. Seshat was virgin still. No, he would not open that treasure in the Dream. He would save that for later.

Maul growled huskily at the thought of Seshat's purity and he began his onslaught again, focusing entirely on stroking Seshat's sensitive nub as he pounded against her buttocks. She came again…and again…and still again. So spent was Seshat that she grew limp on the ground beneath Maul and shivered only a little with every orgasm that swept throughout her body.

After what seemed like forever, Maul pressed himself along the length of Seshat's body and stiffened with his own explosive climax, filling her with an endless stream of his scalding release and grunting with each spurt He began licking her shoulder blades furiously, scraping Seshat raw, and growling lowly.

Then all was quiet between them as they lay in Seshat's invaded refuge. Seshat stirred first, trying to get away ~ trying to awaken. But Maul pinned her to the ground and, using the Force, opened Seshat's mind to him. She could not resist him in her weakened state. He saw the image of Elliott that the Botanists had given Seshat. He saw the city in which Elliott lived and the house in which he dwelt. Maul memorised the vision of the map he saw in Seshat's mind. Here would be where Maul would retrieve the Sapphire and wreak vengeance on this abundantly lovely Earthwoman in person.

Passing his coal hand over her tear-stained face, Maul crooned, "Pet, I did not walk your mind."

"You didn't walk my mind," Seshat replied.

"Continue with your mission and consider this a dream."

"This was just a dream."

Darth Maul pulled his flaccid member out of the weary forest guardian and stood over her, smiling. He had something very special planned for Seshat, something not even his Master might imagine.

**PT. 7**

**THE GAME OF MADNESS**

_I have opened myself to this notion absorbing the filth of all that fall in my way carelessly passing through maze this dementia has built around a thousand thoughts of the one who seduced to reveal my intentions the one who has weakened me broken me down. ~~__**Android Lust "Heathen (1000 Thoughts) **_

Seshat sat bolt upright in her seat and gasped loudly. The other passengers on the bus glanced at her for a moment, then turned their attention away for fear the young woman may be crazy.

Not caring what they thought, Seshat felt over her sore body to see if she were marked in any way. Her skin ached and her buttocks throbbed with pain. But what hurt the most was her heart. The dream she'd had felt more like a violation and what was worse was she had liked it. In her darkest of thoughts, Seshat reveled in the memory of Maul's rough penetration of her, his complete ownership and usage of her body in what was Seshat's most sacred of sanctuaries. She felt like she had violated herself, having a dream such as this and relishing its wickedness. The name, Darth Maul, echoed in her mind, a dangerous lilting song.

Wiping a tear away from her eye, Seshat looked out of the window at the passing countryside. It rolled by almost hypnotically, lulling Seshat back into calmness. The landscape was beautiful under the moon's unassuming luminescence, graced with ancient trees and meadows holding stories yet untold. The occasional town could be seen in the distance, making it's own light in the darkness. The normality of the bus and the familiarity of the world outside allowed a kind of comfort to descend upon Seshat. She relaxed in her seat and breathed deeply.

And then she saw it. In a field ahead of the bus ~ a figure standing motionless, the wind blowing his black cloak like ink against the sky. Seshat felt her heart knot up in her chest. It can't be…it just can't be. As the bus approached the field, the figure extended his hand toward the bus and, flashing like bloodstained lightning, the light sabre ignited, bathing the Sith Lord in an eerie red light.

She looked at her fellow travelers, hoping they saw him too. But no one showed any indication of seeing anything out of the ordinary. The bus passed Darth Maul and Seshat could tell that his gaze followed its path. Trembling, Seshat closed her eyes and prayed that it was only her overactive imagination.

If it was, the forest guardian was sure the Massassi Sapphire was eating away her mind. About the time Seshat calmed her heart from the fear of seeing this spectre, the Sith Lord again appeared ahead of the bus, standing darkly in the night, his lightsabre casting a red glow around his figure.

Throughout the night, Seshat thought she saw the Sith Lord every few miles, calmly watching the bus go by him. And each time she saw him, fear would twist at Seshat's calm centre, breaking it down with every revelation of Darth Maul. Seshat longed for someone, anyone on the bus to say, "What is that?" so she would know she wasn't going mad. By Dawn, Seshat could barely blink her red eyes, so sore and dry they were from lack of sleep, stress, and tears. Perhaps now, she could sleep as the bus rolled on. Closing her eyes, Seshat sighed deeply and fell into a dreamless slumber.

Darth Maul watched the bus speed ever-onward, carrying his prey south to her eventual doom. Straddling his speeder, he sped off in an arc to gain a few miles and wait for the bus's approach. As he flew along, feet a mere yard from the blurry ground, Maul reached out and touched Seshat's mind. She was tired and vulnerable to the trappings of her fear. And she questioned her sanity. Maul smiled. His mind game was working perfectly. He need only keep up the pressure. Using the Force to fortify his body from the affects of sleep deprivation, the Sith Lord focused all his attention on the matter at hand ~ keeping the Earthwoman in sight and breaking down all of her defenses until she was left exposed to his influence and Will.

Now the bus was approaching Maul. He was waiting very close to the road this time, ready to speed alongside the massive vehicle. Giving Seshat a telepathic nudge to awaken her, Maul cloaked himself to all but her to appear as a biker.

As the bus reached Maul, he saw Seshat at the window, her mouth an O of astonishment and fear. Maul engaged his speeder and matched the bus's speed, staying right below Seshat and occasionally casting his gaze upon her.

Seshat closed her eyes, squeezing back tears that couldn't come, she'd cried so much. It was obvious that no one else saw the Sith Lord flying alongside the bus. She must be going mad from holding the Massassi Sapphire for so long. Venturing to open her eyes again, Seshat looked timidly out her window and beheld a biker intent on the ribbon of road before him.

But before her sight, the biker rippled and the image shattered to reveal, once more, Darth Maul. Slowly his head turned, the hood flapping angrily against his cheeks, and stared directly into Seshat's eyes. And he smiled confidently and knowingly, as though they shared a private joke. It was too much. The fear and the desire overwhelmed Seshat and she passed out.

Sensing that Seshat's mind had rejected what her eyes had truly seen, causing her to lose consciousness, Maul abandoned his torment for the time being and sped far ahead of the bus to camp and rest until the next onslaught.

Seshat woke to a circle of worried faces above her. The bus driver and some of the other passengers were hovering around her, making sure she was okay.

"Ma'am, do you need a doctor?" the driver asked.

"No. No, thank you. I'm fine. I think maybe I'm just tired, is all. Thank you." The driver nodded and returned to the front to get the bus going again.

A young man helped Seshat back to her seat, rolling up his jacket and placing it behind her neck for support.

"Try to get some rest and, if you need anything, I'm right back there," he said, pointing to the rear of the bus.

Seshat managed a weak smile and thanked the man, slipping into sleep once more.

The entire journey was one of terror for Seshat. At every turn, she thought she saw the Sith Lord. In every town in which the bus stopped to drop off some passengers and pick up more, Darth Maul was present, gazing silently at her from afar. And, in the night, she could see the angry red glow of the Sith's lightsabre as he stood witness to the bus's passing. Over and over again it happened, but only for Seshat's eyes. She felt her soul and strength of purpose weaken with every sighting of the Sith.

By the time the bus reached Sacramento, Seshat was numb with fright. No shred of peace was left in her devastated body and weary mind. Like a zombie, she stepped off of the bus and into the back of a waiting taxi.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

She handed the driver the map and said, "Can you find this house?"

The man studied the map for a moment. "Elk Grove, eh? No problemo!" And they were off to Elliott's home, a place of rest and refuge.

Darth Maul was already at Elliott's home. Rifling through the house in Elliott's absence, he'd surmised the young man lived there alone, his mother dead, his brother and sister living their own lives in other towns.

Maul explored the garage adjacent to the house, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the enclosure. It still reeked of the Botanist's presence there years before. In fact the entire homestead was permeated with a Jedi stench that inspired magnificent waves of hatred to flood Maul's being. The Sith Lord channeled it into threads of power and felt his body throb with a sense of invincibility. Jumping effortlessly to land on the roof of Elliott's house, Maul waited for the Jedi agent's return and Seshat's doomed arrival, a mad joy sweetening his angry heart.

**PT.8**

GUARDIANS FALL

_And home's the most excellent place of all and I'll be right here if you should call me. ~__**Neil Diamond "Heartlight"**_

The afternoon grew late as Elliott pulled into the driveway of his home. Maul watched him emerge from his vehicle, carrying a neat black bag and a stack of papers.

He was a tall man, yet he still had those innocent boyish features so beloved by the folks who remembered his legendary escapades with the rumoured extraterrestrial almost two decades ago. He used those childlike attributes in his software business now, and they always came in quite handy when dealing with customers and competitors.

Strolling up the walkway, Elliott stopped. He sensed a presence near the house. It was almost like the feeling he shared with his Botanist friend when they were linked together. But the feeling seemed more ominous, like a dense fog descending upon him. Elliott looked around and Maul retreated a little, watching the young man as he tried to locate the whisper of energy.

Finally, Elliott shrugged his shoulders and continued on into the house.

He set his laptop and papers on the kitchen counter and went to the fridge for a can of Mountain Dew. Grabbing a handful of Reeses Pieces, Elliott made his way to the living room and collapsed on the couch to unwind and watch a little TV. Ah, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was on. Elliott rather liked these sci-fi/fantasy martial arts movies. He smiled and settled in for the ride.

Outside, Maul perched taut and ready as he watched Seshat emerge from the yellow taxi. She paid the driver and moved anxiously up the walkway to Elliott's front door. Only briefly did she falter, thinking she sensed Maul's presence, but unsure of anything in her state of exhaustion and borderline madness.

Silently, Maul unhooked his lightsabre from his belt and shifted his legs far beneath himself, readying for the final pounce.

Seshat rang the doorbell and turned her back to the door to watch for the Sith Lord. Her fear had taken her over completely and she was wrapped in terror that Darth Maul would appear and take her before she could deliver the Massassi Sapphire to safety. At the thoughts of such a thing happening, Seshat began to feel a twinge of anger flare inside her heart. She straightened her spine against the door and clenched her fists in rebellion of her fright.

Darth Maul's heart skipped from the waves of anger he felt flowing from Seshat's being. She was well on her way to the Dark Side, he could feel it! It was almost worth sparing her and letting her develop her skills to their fullest potential as a Sith Lady. But, no….Maul's Master would have none of it nor did Maul want to waste his chance at vengeance. He waited and listened as Seshat once again rang the doorbell.

Slightly perturbed at the interruption, Elliott marched to the door and swung it open. A girl who could be no older than 20 spun around, a look of stark fear mixed with rage on her plump face. Her short dark hair was a mess of curls and tangles all over her head and her large eyes were vaguely swollen and red with tears.

"Elliott? Is it you?" The moment she spoke, Elliott knew who it was. It was Seshat, the homeless teen whom the Botanists had rescued and trained for her exceptional otherworldly skills. The First Guardian of the Massassi Sapphire. That could mean only one thing: the Sith had tracked them down and it was time for Elliott to hide the jewel until the menace was gone.

"Yes…Seshat? Are you all right?" He said. "I never thought we'd meet."

Elliott extended his hand to her, to draw Seshat into his home and prepare her for sanctuary. But Darth Maul had other plans. With a nudge of the Force, he propelled Seshat into the yard. To Elliott, it looked merely as though Seshat had lost her balance. But Seshat knew better and she gasped for air and control over her fear as she fell to the ground.

Elliott ran out to her, as Maul suspected he would. "Here, Seshat, let me help you up."

Fumbling in her backpack, Seshat pulled out the tin that held the Massassi Sapphire. "Here, Elliott. It's too late for me. I feel myself being drawn into the Darkness. Take the jewel. Keep it safe from…Darth Maul."

And as she handed the tin to Elliott, Maul made his move. Leaping off of the roof, a dance of ebony and poetry, the Sith Lord ignited his sabre and cut through Elliott's neck, sending the young man's head soaring to land across the yard. Elliott's body crumpled atop Seshat, who stared at the dead man's head, aghast.

Maul picked up the tin that held the Sith relic, turned his head within his hood, and looked calmly at Seshat. And he smiled with an expression of such superiority and triumph that Seshat felt the anger burn through her body, taking away all her control.

"No! You evil bastard!" Seshat jumped to her feet and ran at the Sith Lord. Extending her foot high above her, Seshat kicked Maul squarely on the head, sending him reeling. She could sense his surprise at her sudden attack. And still Seshat pressed on, cursing at Maul, calling him Sith Animal as she continued her onslaught. She struck him in the chest and ribs, spun and kicked Maul in the head again. This time, Maul was ready, and he blocked ever strike Seshat threw his way. So Seshat dipped to the ground and took Maul's legs out from under him. And then Seshat was straddling Maul's chest just as she had done a few nights before. Her arm was behind her, her fist squared and ready to deliver a deadly blow to the Sith Lord's throat, when Seshat felt it. The Massassi Sapphire…..Maul had released it from its metal container. Its power unleashed, the alchemies enveloped Seshat and her anger transformed into desire.

Seshat bent down and devoured Maul's lips with her own, savouring the spicy alien taste of his saliva as it mingled with hers. Maul responded fervently in kind, allowing the Earthwoman her moment of power. As her tongue probed his mouth deeply, Maul slipped the precious Sith relic into the secret folds of his robes and felt its instant influence on his loins.

Pulling Seshat away from him, he looked deeply into her eyes as the last full rays of the sun filtered down upon them. She saw the blue hue dissipate as Maul's nictitating eyelids withdrew to reveal the lovely golden and crimson shades of his eyes. How lovely this man was! How she despised him! How she needed him….

"Will you come with me to the forest, Seshat?" Maul asked her, his voice barely audible. "Will you come with me and let me show you the power of the Sith?"

Seshat felt the warm wetness spread out between her legs. "Yes, Lord Maul. Show me."

**PT.9**

**HOPELESS POSSESSION**

_Hopeless possession, the splendour of nightmare, sacred infection, wholly indelible, as pure as my cruelty, all heart and silence, as weak as this cold light, it feels as I feel. ~__**Shriekback "Hubris"**_

Maul led Seshat into the very forest in which the Botanists had landed so many years before. Its pristine quality had not been compromised, given it's almost legendary status in the community. Wild ferns and moss grew plentifully here underneath trees older than many of the communities that had sprung up around them. A hint of moisture was in the breeze that danced around them.

He gently held the Earthwoman's hand in his own gloved one, taking care to not frighten or anger her anymore. She was under the spell of her own desires magnified a hundredfold by the magicks of the Massassi Sapphire. He, too, felt the jewel's effect, his shaft once more throbbing and needing release. The revenge would be gratifying and sweet. A most memorable experience for them both, Maul was certain.

Finding a sheltered area with a soft mossy floor, Maul lowered Seshat to her knees. She was amazed at how truly small the Sith Lord was. He wasn't any taller than she, who was only average at best. And his features were almost delicate and innocent behind the warlike tatttoos. For one so small, he harboured such power! Seshat was compelled to open herself up to that power, to surrender to it utterly. No longer did she care what the Botanists thought or that her only remaining saviour lay headless in his own front yard. None of it mattered anymore. All that mattered was the infinite gaze Maul cast upon her in this one perfect moment.

The Sith Lord began slowly. He pulled off his leather gloves to reveal immaculate ebony hands with fingers that tapered down to manicured black nails. He reached up to Seshat's face and stroked her cheeks with his smooth, hot fingers. Seshat moaned with the joy of his touch as he outlined her lips with one gentle finger. As Seshat took Maul's finger in her mouth, savouring it's exotic essence, Maul carefully unbuttoned her flannel and pulled it down around her shoulders, never averting his eyes from hers. She was so beautiful to him, Maul was feign to carry out his plans. All he desired was to cradle Seshat in his strong arms and assure her that she would never be afraid as long as he lived and fought for her honour. But it was too late for that.

Effortlessly pulling the Earthwoman to him, Maul kissed her deeply and delighted in her lush abundance against his steel body. Seshat ran her hands over his back, taking hands full of ebony fabric in her spasms of excitement. She felt him pull her flannel down the rest of the way and undo her bra, letting it fall between them. Still kissing her, Maul cupped Seshat's breasts in his feverish hands and ran his smooth thumbs over her nipples. Seshat gasped from the electric shocks Maul's gentle strokes caused throughout her body.

Drawing back from her, Maul once again locked eyes with Seshat's as he continued his deliberate excitation of her swollen nipples. "I have pursued _you_ as much as I have the Massassi Sapphire," he said to her, his voice a tender dagger in her ears. "No one has ever overcome me in the way that you did. I find that……stimulating."

And Maul leaned in and deftly licked Seshat's lips. His tongue was rough, just as she remembered from her experience in the forest and in the canopy of her dreams. The Sith Lord continued downward to draw one of Seshat's nipples into his burning mouth, encircling it with his harsh tongue. Seshat arched her back to give the Sith more access to her, and entwined her fingers in his horns. Hearing him groan as she touched Maul's horns, Seshat began to rub them and caress their bases so she could hear his exquisite voice rumble again. Seshat craved to hear his expressions of pleasure. She felt she would do anything to know that Maul was happy.

Darth Maul ran his hands over Seshat's body, effortlessly removing her jeans and underwear to leave her bare before him. He let his fingers trail along her flesh, the heat of him lingering on her wherever he touched. Maul felt so good to Seshat, so real and right. How could she have ever run from this dark angel? Seshat watched him as he explored every part of her as though imprinting her every crevice in the depths of his memory. And then Maul stood, gazing down upon Seshat, his eyes aglow with passion.

He pulled his cloak off, the heavy rustle of the fabric sending thrills of ecstasy through Seshat's soul. The belt came next, falling at Maul's feet along with his deadly lightsabre. The Sith unwrapped the tunic from his body and placed the Massassi Sapphire in full view beside his garments. Maul was naked save for the harem pants and boots. Seshat was in awe of the Sith Lord's unbearable beauty. His skin was black as night and laced with crimson jags and swirls that made a pattern impossible to truly follow. Spirals framed his nipples and around his navel, and angles accentuated the muscles that rippled with every subtle movement of his torso. Maul's arms, too, were decorated in the Sith tribal designs, the red encircling him to end in diamonds on his shoulders. Seshat felt almost hypnotised by the frightful wonder of Maul's perfection.

"Seshat, pet," he said to her huskily. "Free me."

Seshat knew what he asked of her. Rising from the forest floor, she reached for Maul's harem pants and loosened the ties that held them firmly to his narrow waist. Pulling them down, she revealed Maul's eager manhood, ebony with a shining crimson head, standing out for her taking in any way she deemed worthy. She took the scarlet tip of the throbbing shaft in her mouth, glorifying in its musky aroma and slightly cinnamon flavour. It's heat threatened to burn her tongue as Seshat moved it around Maul's member. She felt him thrust towards her a little, but didn't allow any more than just the tip of him in her mouth as she pulled his pants the rest of the way down. He was delicious to her and she wanted more of him. She wanted all of him, but not yet.

Pulling off his boots, Seshat removed Maul's pants, leaving him naked in the forest with her. She followed the red designs that began like flames on his feet and trailed up his legs in harsh angles and mild spirals to end in diamonds on his buttocks. How lovely he was! A work of art unto himself.

Maul pulled her head to him again and Seshat found her cheek resting against his inner thigh, Maul's heavy sac before her. Reaching out, Seshat took Maul in the palm of her hand and gently kneaded him as she rubbed her face along the taut muscles of Maul's leg. Her breath was heavy with desire, and her legs were flushed with a warm wetness. Looking down, Seshat saw that she was bleeding again.

The Sith Lord saw the blood too and, as though they were in Seshat's frightful dream, he flared his nostrils and looked lustily into Seshat's eyes.

"I can smell you," he said, lowering the Earthwoman to the ground and moving his head between her legs.

Maul began with her thighs, licking in long strokes and savouring the sweet blood shed out of desire for him. His rough tongue slightly chafed Seshat's skin, but nothing like the pain she felt in the dream of his invasion. The more he licked the more she bled for him out of arousal and need. The Sith Lord arrived at her centre and parted her lips with his tongue, taking her in slow, deliberate laps. Seshat bucked against him from utter pleasure, and he held her down with one strong arm across her pelvis.

Then Seshat heard him…..the most erotic thing she could ever possibly imagine coming from Maul's depths in rhythmic waves of arousal. The Sith was purring. She could feel the vibration of his expression against her thigh as he moved his tongue against her, taking nourishment from her desire.

She struggled to move beneath him, to reach him and take him in her mouth. He allowed her as he continued to devour her essence and she felt his purr become a growl that traveled from her opening deep into her uterus as she surrounded his hotness with her hungry mouth. The soundwaves resounding on the walls of her sex made Seshat peak wildly, emitting a torrent of blood as she moaned against Maul's hard shaft, and suckling desperately at him, savouring his spices and his natural alien musk. But he pulled away and lay across her horizontally, his burning body taut against her softness. The Sith Lord looked at her and smiled, licking the bloody residuals from his lips and cheeks with his long, subtly forked tongue.

Reaching up, Maul took Seshat's triskelion in his hand, studying it curiously. He felt the energy emanating from it and sensed that it was symbolic of all that Seshat was and would ever be: a triform entity ~, eternal, intrepid, and beautiful. It was perfect for his purposes. Maul pulled suddenly on the filigree chain holding the triskelion around Seshat's throat and it broke easily. Noting the look of ire and confusion on Seshat's pretty face, Maul said, "It is for later, pet. You will soon be one with it again."

Still holding the triskelion pendant in his hand, Maul kissed Seshat deeply and moved down to shower her neck and breasts with burning, wet kisses. He stopped finally at Seshat's navel, thrusting his long tongue deep inside of her. Seshat could feel his hot hardness against her leg as he probed her navel deeply, scratching her flesh a little with the roughness of his tongue. As he explored Seshat's navel, Maul ran his hot dry hands over her body, stroking her into a sense of aroused security, keeping her warm in the coolness of Twilight. The sensation of Maul's twice-pointed tongue digging into her made Seshat whimper with a pleasure unimaginable and she squirmed under his weight and strength, clutching desperately at Maul's horns, making him moan in unison with her.

He continued outward from her navel, cleaning Seshat in the manner of his species when coupling is imminent. Baring down harder, Maul chafed Seshat's fragile skin with the tiny barbs that covered his tongue. He covered her entire belly with his marks of ownership, and he began to purr again from the stimulation his own actions brought him. Seshat's writhing body beneath him brought Maul to the edge of climax and he struggled for control, but it was so hard, feeling the influence of the sacred jewel nearby and the joyous tenderness of Seshat's rounded flesh against him.

Maul moved upwards again and positioned his throbbing penis at the virgin gateway of Seshat's sex. She held her breath from anticipation and looked fearfully and desirously into Maul's golden/crimson eyes. Placing her hands on his iron chest and rubbing outwards, Seshat whispered, her mouth dry from excitement.

"Take me, Lord Maul. All I have is yours."

And tentatively did Maul move against Seshat, allowing the fluid of his arousal mix to with her slickness and blood and help him break through her barrier and enter Seshat's eager tunnel. Seshat gasped with pain at Maul's entry and the Sith Lord bent down and kissed away her tears as he pressed further into her, savouring Seshat's tight acceptance of his rigid member. Once he was all the way inside the Earthwoman, Maul took the triskelion pendant and held it between them.

"Focus on your symbol, Seshat. Let all the pain go. Send it into the amulet. If you need to look away, look into my eyes, the eyes of the one who desires you."

And with that, Maul pulled himself out of Seshat a ways, preparing for the first slow thrust. Seshat squeezed her eyes shut as the pain of Maul's size moved within her and she grasped at the hand that held her triskelion, keeping her other hand tensed against Maul's chest. As the Sith Lord moved against her, though, the pain eased into a pleasure Seshat had never known before. To feel this alien's impossible hotness deep inside of her, sliding back and forth in slow strokes of electric joy, made Seshat cry out in earnest.

She clutched at Maul's smooth head and took his frontal horn in her mouth, sucking vigourously, her tongue trailing the grooves of the horn and encircling the sensitive base. Seshat then moved to his lovely two-toned face, licking his cheeks and lips, his ears, eyes, and nose. She took in his own laboured breath and sucked upon his reptilian, feline tongue. Seshat wanted all of him. She wanted him to go deeper into her everywhere.

Sensing her needs, Maul pulled upon threads of the force and bade them enter Seshat's eager anus and swirl around inside her uterus and bowels, making the Earthwoman scream with pleasure as she peaked once more, squeezing Maul's sex in spasms that made him climax violently within her. But still he thrust against her, shooting his burning seed deep into Seshat's belly.

It began to rain on them as the rapture continued for the Sith Lord and his Earthly lover. Glancing over at the Massassi Sapphire, Maul saw that the jewel glowed brightly as it was spattered with the driving rain. The time had come. Darth Maul reared back his noble head and plunged quickly forward, cutting a design into Seshat's chest with his sharp frontal horn. It was an ancient Sith symbol of soul transference to prepare Seshat for her endless journey. It would pave the way…..

In the throes of climax, Seshat cried out from the pleasure and the pain and beat against Maul's chest for release. But Maul had her pinned and brought the triskelion before Seshat's vision as he continued to move in and out of her, pumping his neverending seed into her even as her sex overflowed with his emissions. The rain poured cruelly down upon them, beating their joined flesh in torrents.

"Seshat," Maul hissed, baring his teeth as his penis spasmed in long orgasmic waves. "Focus, pet."

"Great Spirit, the pain!" Seshat replied, lurching in rapture against the Sith.

Maul placed his lips to Seshat's ear and whispered, "Pain is nothing that a downpour won't erase." And he surrounded Seshat with the Force, helping her focus on the Triskelion and the rain that pelted their union.

Seshat stared into her pendant, finding there the peace she thought she had lost. Behind the pendant, she saw Darth Maul's beautifully frightening eyes gazing at her in anticipation. The rain beat upon her wound, giving a strange comfort, as she felt herself climax again from Maul's insistent thrusts.

"My Lord," she gasped. "You feel so good to me."

And it was as though the rain drew upwards now, making Seshat feel light. All the torment and ecstasy was filtering out of the wound Maul had made in her chest in droplets of pure blue, making the forest guardian feel ever lighter in the Sith Lord's arms. And the droplets were turning her triskelion such a lovely shade of blue, a sapphire hue. The cold colour of the……Massassi Sapphire!

Seshat's realisation of what was happening to her was quite evident to Lord Maul as he finished his last hard thrust within her, completely empty of semen and beyond satisfaction. The guardian was such an exquisite lover, even it had been her first time. In another reality, she would have been proficient in the Arts of Desire. Perhaps in the future her skills could be channeled through the Sith jewel. For now, he watched Seshat's eyes grow wide with sweet, sweet fear and he felt her soul being drawn irreversibly into the triskelion she held so dear.

Unable to move, Seshat could only mouth the word "Why?"

And as the last of Seshat left her body, she heard Maul say, "Why, my pet? Because I can, because you dared to humiliate a Sith Lord. Because I can bring you back to me when I am Master. For now, you will dwell in the dreams of the Sapphire until I am allowed to summon you. Oh, and pet….." Maul smiled sweetly, making the Darkness the drove him even more apparent.

"Do enjoy the Massassi. I'm sure you'll meet them during your stay within the jewel."

And he kissed Seshat's chilly mouth one last time, biting her lower lip until blood spilt over pale chin.

Maul then turned his attention to the triskelion. Holding it out from him with the power of the Force, Maul focused on its blue glow and used all the power within him to transfer it into the Massassi Sapphire. The pendant suddenly winked out of sight and the jewel flared with a blinding blue light. Maul moved away from Seshat's body and gently picked up the Massassi Sapphire. Within it's crystalline depths, nestled closely to Naga Sadow's drop of sacred blood, a tiny indigo triskele spun magickally.

Reaching out with the Force, Maul sought a sign that Seshat was trapped within her symbol and he caught the erotic vision of him making delicious love to the beautiful forest guardian in an endless stream of ecstasy that carried with it an endless pain. It was universal, it seemed……pain and pleasure were conjoined and the same. Only the intensity of sensation dictacted which may be felt, and one may lead to the other as easily as rain falls from the swollen sky. And now Seshat was a slave to the law of pleasure and pain. Such was her fate for daring to challenge the Sith.

Maul smiled again, readying himself for the journey back to his Infiltrator and then back home to his Master, the mission on which he was sent forth finally complete. He could sense Seshat's climactic desperation and looked forward to the day he may channel her immortal passion, when he was Sith Master and wielder of the Massassi Sapphire.

Until that time, Maul sped off into the rainy night, leaving the nest of his lovemaking and the vacant body, filled only with his cold seed, behind him with vague regret. The arousal from the Sapphire, which was tucked safely within his dark robes, was already teasing him exquisitely. The regret faded, replaced with pride and victory, and mixed with a dark craving. Maul could sense the Massassi Sapphire's power. It was feeling as he felt.

Awash in the silver blankets of cleansing water, the forest, beloved of the Earthlings who remembered the magickal days when boys flew and love conquered all ~ even death, stood in silence, witness to the promise of pain. The last of the Jedi agents on the tiny blue planet lay soaked on the moss, unaware of her final state. Seshat, the First Guardian of the Massassi Sapphire, was far away in a cold blue world of eternal passion, trapped in a fantasy that would not let her rest, nor did she want it to. With every breath she called out his name, shivering in rapture as it passed over her lips.

"MAUL!"

FIN

©Tracy Angelina Evans 2000


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